Montreal Canadiens: Logan Mailloux & The Defence Corps

Future Blueline - Who’s In The Mix? 

It’s hard to assess who slots in where, and Martin St Louis distributes the minutes on the blue line. But one thing is for certain, the Habs will have a formidable group of blueliners. With many of them under 24 years old, this group will be around for a while. 

Left defence: Kaiden Guhle and Jayden Struble sit atop the U24 defence group for the Habs. Guhle has picked up where he left off in his rookie season, his potential appears to be quite high. Struble took advantage of an opportunity and is staying put in Montreal. 

Mike Matheson is currently the Habs' best defenseman, who munches minutes and QBs the first powerplay unit. He is older than the Habs core group. And I think it’s only a matter of time before he gets moved. 

Jordan Harris and Arber Xhekaj are sort of the next tier under Struble and Guhle. Harris hasn’t shown a lot offensively, but he is a well-rounded two-way defender, who can play on his off-side. We all know who Xhekaj is and the Canadiens are well aware of what they have with the Sheriff. 

Lane Hutson will almost certainly report to Montreal as soon as he finishes his sophomore season. The Boston University Terrier will likely be sheltered to begin, but I see him slotting into the top four at the end of the day. Adam Engstrom is another player, who I think has a bright future and could slot onto the Habs blueline soon enough. 

William Trudeau is also in the mix, playing his second season with the Rocket. A solid skater with some nice puck skills, I see a bottom-pair defender. 

With a nice mix of blueliners in the fold, the Canadiens need a home-run pick for an elite forward to push the team toward contender status. The right side is looking stronger than in recent years. So, in the meantime, we wait, which gives the prospects time to grow and develop. 

Rebuilds aren’t easy, but this team competes hard. And Martin St. Louis hasn’t got all of his top prospects in the mix yet. Give it another season and the Habs will look much different. 

Slow and steady wins the race.